Did anyone notice Peyton Manning “broke a record” on Sunday, but it received very little attention relative to the proper record context we set three weeks ago?

That was refreshing to see, even if it still meant Tony Dungy was on NBC’s pre-game show, saying that Manning has 48 fourth quarter comebacks, despite the fact the graphic says “game-winning drives.”

That’s all it is. Manning has 48 game-winning drives in the regular season, which is in fact a new record (Dan Marino, 47). Including the playoffs, Marino still leads 51 to 49, but in due time.

Speaking of record holders, the big showdown in New Jersey resulted in Ben Roethlisberger beating Eli Manning to his 29th game-winning drive, which ties him with Peyton Manning for the most through a player’s first nine seasons.

The regular season is more than halfway over and we still have two offenses (San Francisco and Houston) that have yet to face a single comeback or game-winning drive opportunity.

Their time will come, just as it has for the other 30 teams. Here is a summary through Week 9 of how each offense has fared in their fourth-quarter comeback opportunities and overall attempts at game-winning drives this season.

Team

4QC Wins

4QC Losses

Pct.

4Q/OT Wins

4Q/OT Losses

Pct.

Arizona Cardinals

2

1

0.667

2

1

0.667

Atlanta Falcons

2

0

1.000

4

0

1.000

Baltimore Ravens

2

1

0.667

2

1

0.667

Buffalo Bills

0

2

0.000

1

2

0.333

Carolina Panthers

0

5

0.000

0

5

0.000

Chicago Bears

1

0

1.000

1

0

1.000

Cincinnati Bengals

0

4

0.000

1

4

0.200

Cleveland Browns

1

5

0.167

1

5

0.167

Dallas Cowboys

1

3

0.250

1

3

0.250

Denver Broncos

3

1

0.750

3

1

0.750

Detroit Lions

3

2

0.600

3

2

0.600

Green Bay Packers

1

3

0.250

1

3

0.250

Houston Texans

0

0

-

0

0

-

Indianapolis Colts

2

1

0.667

4

1

0.800

Jacksonville Jaguars

1

2

0.333

1

3

0.250

Kansas City Chiefs

1

1

0.500

1

1

0.500

Miami Dolphins

0

3

0.000

0

3

0.000

Minnesota Vikings

1

2

0.333

1

2

0.333

New England Patriots

1

2

0.333

2

2

0.500

New Orleans Saints

1

3

0.250

1

4

0.200

New York Giants

3

3

0.500

3

3

0.500

New York Jets

1

2

0.333

1

2

0.333

Oakland Raiders

2

2

0.500

2

2

0.500

Philadelphia Eagles

3

1

0.750

3

2

0.600

Pittsburgh Steelers

2

2

0.500

3

3

0.500

San Diego Chargers

0

3

0.000

0

3

0.000

San Francisco 49ers

0

0

-

0

0

-

Seattle Seahawks

2

4

0.333

2

4

0.333

St. Louis Rams

1

3

0.250

1

3

0.250

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

0

4

0.000

0

4

0.000

Tennessee Titans

3

0

1.000

3

1

0.750

Washington Redskins

1

5

0.167

1

5

0.167

TOTAL

41

70

0.369

49

75

0.395

No teams have more overall wins (four) than Atlanta and upstart Indianapolis. Five teams have played six games with an opportunity: Browns, Giants, Steelers, Seahawks and Redskins. Teams are averaging 3.9 opportunities with everyone having played eight or nine games.

Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning, two of the most prolific quarterbacks in NFL history when it comes to leading comebacks and game-winning drives, met on Sunday, and everyone knew the game would come down to the end. It was the ninth meeting ever between quarterbacks with multiple Super Bowl rings.

The top of the class of 2004 quarterbacks were having their rubber match, with each having a comeback/game-winning drive on the other’s home field in the first two meetings.

This would be no different, though the result of the game was sure different. For starters, the Steelers only travelled on the day of the game to New Jersey, which is almost unheard of in the modern era. This is because of the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, which certainly may have explained why the Giants had such a lackadaisical performance.

Or it could just be another midseason swoon for a team that’s trademarked them. Eli Manning never looked right all game long, finishing 10/24 for 125 yards, an interception and a 41.1 passer rating.

The Giants built an early lead on some of the most bogus officiating calls you will ever see, with both touchdowns being a crock of…you know what. Apparently you can get a “blow to the head” on a clean play that never even targets the head, and the tuck rule must no longer apply, if it ever needed to apply at all.

Roethlisberger controlled the ball after that contact, but then it came out after a forward motion (top), which should have meant an incomplete pass. He has gotten that call on less in the past, such as in a 2009 game against Green Bay (bottom) that looked like a fumble forced by Clay Matthews, overturned into an incomplete pass.

Bad calls aside, the third quarter did not go well for Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger threw a poor interception, and the Giants kicked a field goal to take a 20-10 lead.

But on the second play of the fourth quarter, the Steelers faced a 3rd and 5. Roethlisberger threw underneath, and Mike Wallace showed everyone why he is worth some decent cash, exhibiting speed you just do not see on a NFL field that often. He went 51 yards for a touchdown after doing next to nothing in the game.

The Giants went three and out, and Emmanuel Sanders returned the punt 63 yards to the NYG 12. Perhaps temporarily losing his sanity, Mike Tomlin went with a fake field goal that failed miserably with 10:30 left.

The call cannot be defended. If you are going for it, then put your offense out there and do it. There is no reason to get cute, and you should be kicking the field goal anyway to tie the game.

But the Giants went three and out again, and the Steelers had the ball at the 49. Roethlisberger completed passes for 26 yards, and the Steelers caught a break when the Giants were offsides on 3rd and 7. Isaac Redman converted, and scored the game-winning touchdown two plays later with 4:02 left. Pittsburgh led 24-20.

Everyone knows the Giants are great in the fourth quarter, but it was not to be this day. Manning threw incomplete twice before being sacked by LaMarr Woodley. It was another three and out.

Now the Steelers could close it out with 2:52 left. They ran it twice, like clockwork, setting up a 3rd and 9. Roethlisberger stood tall in the pocket, delivering a 16-yard strike to Sanders for a big first down. The Giants used their final timeout. It did not matter, as Redman bulled his way through for 28 yards on the next play to ice it. Roethlisberger took three knees to end it.

The dominant fourth-quarter team was outscored 14-0 at home by Pittsburgh. The Giants only managed 182 yards of offense in what had to be the best performance by Pittsburgh’s defense against an elite offense since their Super Bowl XL run in 2005.

The Steelers had plenty of adversity to overcome to get this win, and they came through.

This was the fourth time Roethlisberger has led a fourth quarter comeback when trailing by 10 points, and the third time against a NFC East opponent (2004 Cowboys, 2008 Cowboys).

It is Roethlisberger’s 29 game-winning drive, tying Peyton Manning for the most in a player’s first nine seasons.

The unlikely meeting of 4-3 teams turned into the most prolific rookie quarterback duel in NFL history with 723 yards passing between Andrew Luck and Ryan Tannehill. Should they have great careers, this one will be remembered as a classic.

Luck’s had some impressive moments this season, but Sunday was his first “wow game” of his career, and it’s not just because he passed for the rookie record 433 yards.

It was evident on the first drive when he converted a 3rd and 12. Luck would convert 12 of his 17 third-down attempts in the game, and this was against a Miami defense who led the league in that area coming into Week 9.

But even after throwing for 273 yards in the first half, Indianapolis trailed 17-13. Luck threw a go-ahead touchdown to T.Y. Hilton on a great catch late in the third quarter. The Colts led 20-17.

Not to be outdone, Tannehill moved his offense into field goal range, and Dan Carpenter kicked a 31-yard field goal to tie the game with 13:12 left in the fourth quarter.

Standing in his own end zone on a 3rd and 11, Luck found rookie TE Dwayne Allen for a 20-yard gain. Two plays later it was Allen again over the middle for another 20-yard gain.

Later on 3rd and 3, Luck was pressured by Cameron Wake at his knees, but he still delivered the pass to Reggie Wayne for a first down. That’s a keeper for the highlight reel.

The drive eventually stalled, but Adam Vinatieri made the 43-yard field goal with 5:58 left. Colts led 23-20.

After allowing 17 points on their first three drives, the defense for the Colts really stepped up in the second half. On a 3rd and 6, Tannehill moved to his right, but the ball bounced harmlessly off the ground. Miami punted.

The four-minute offense was no threat for the Colts. Two runs, then Luck threw to a spot where Wayne was, but Sean Smith dropped an interception. It was a three and out.

Now with 2:39 left at his own 17, Tannehill had a chance to lead his first game-winning drive and earn some respect. Three straight completions to the 50 and things were looking great at the two-minute warning.

But that’s when the defense started to impact the rookie. He threw wide of Reggie Bush on first down. A little bit of pressure forced a bad overthrown on second down. Mike Pouncey was penalized for a false start, making it 3rd and 15. Tannehill overthrew Bess down the field, setting up one more play.

Scrambling to his right, Tannehill threw back to the left as he took a big shot. Daniel Thomas made the catch, but he was short, only gaining 14 yards. Jake Long was penalized for holding, but it did not matter. The Colts had the ball.

Vick Ballard put an exclamation point on it with a 19-yard run to end the game.

The Colts take a big leap forward in the AFC playoff picture, and it was thanks to an incredible quarterback performance, and a defense getting it done late. Sounds like a familiar recipe for the Colts.

Luck becomes the fifth rookie quarterback to lead at least four game-winning drives, and the first to do it in his team’s first eight games of a season.

Most GWD's, Rookie Season (Playoffs Included)

Rk

Quarterback

Year

Team

GWD

1

Ben Roethlisberger

2004

Steelers

6

2

Vince Young

2006

Titans

5

3T

Andrew Luck

2012

Colts

4

3T

Matt Ryan

2008

Falcons

4

3T

Andy Dalton

2011

Bengals

4

We have a feeling he’s far from done as his historic season begins its second half.

It was just another day at the office for Peyton Manning, improving to 8-0 against the Cincinnati Bengals. It looked like it may have come easy like many times in the past, especially when Manning enjoyed a 105-yard kick return touchdown by Trindon Holliday. In 235 career games, Manning has never had that happen before for his team.

But the Bengals fought back, and Manning made his two mistakes of the day with a pair of interceptions on consecutive passes in the third quarter.

Down 17-13, Andy Dalton completed a 19-yard pass to A.J. Green down at the 2-yard line. Two plays later, BenJarvus Green-Ellis scored the go-ahead touchdown, but with 14:10 left.

Manning converted a 3rd and 3 after Eric Decker made a nice move after the catch through some poor tackling for 30 yards. Two plays later Manning went for Demaryius Thomas in the end zone, and Pacman Jones was penalized for pass interference, putting the ball at the CIN 1.

Manning found Joel Dreessen in the back of the end zone for the touchdown to cap the 80-yard drive.

Dalton tried to answer, but on 3rd and 15, he made a great pass to Green for 19 yards. However, holding on Jeff Faine, the third penalty on the drive on Cincinnati’s offensive line, wiped it out. On 3rd and 25, Dalton forced a pass, and Champ Bailey intercepted it.

Manning converted another third down to Brandon Stokley, then worked on the clock on the ground. On 2nd and 4, he went back to the end zone with Decker for the touchdown to take a 31-20 lead with 3:36 left. The drive took just over five minutes and basically sealed the game.

Cincinnati took a long time to go 47 yards for a field goal, but they failed to recover the onside kick. Manning took two knees to end it.

Manning was 6/6 for 69 yards, two touchdowns and a 29-yard penalty drawn in the final quarter. Though he came up nine yards short of tying the record with a fifth consecutive game of over 300 yards passing and three touchdowns, it was still another big day for Manning, and another milestone.

As mentioned in the beginning, it is the 48th game-winning drive in the regular season for Manning, which does set a new record. He will still need two more game-winning drives to tie Dan Marino for the overall record (51). It is the 38th fourth quarter comeback, and the 50th overall win in the fourth quarter or overtime for Manning.

This is the seventh time in his career that Manning has led at least three fourth-quarter comeback wins in a season. The Bengals cannot buy one this season, dropping to 0-4 in their opportunities.

We know Matt Ryan is a master of the one-minute drill at the end of the game, but here was a game-winning drive that wrapped up within the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Tied 6-6, Ryan completed an 8-yard pass on the first play of the quarter, and Michael Turner ran it in for the 3-yard touchdown with 14:16 left. Ryan was 2/2 for 24 yards on the drive. Turner’s big 43-yard run really set it up.

Was it a “cheap” game-winning drive? Maybe. But consider the job to finish the game, secure the GWD, which Atlanta does so well, and Dallas does not.

After the Cowboys went three and out, featuring a 3-yard loss on a slow draw play that Tony Romo obviously was furious about, Atlanta added to their lead. Julio Jones made a big play for 48 yards to set it up, and Matt Bryant made the 36-yard field goal for a 16-6 lead.

Romo was let loose with the no huddle, moving the offense 78 yards in six plays and taking just 2:28 off the clock. He found Kevin Ogletree for a 21-yard touchdown, and it was game on with 5:21 left. Dallas now down 16-13.

Keep in mind the Falcons have only allowed three fourth quarter comebacks since 2008. They know how to close.

The four-minute offense is where the Falcons are also really good, and they showed it again with three third-down conversions. Orlando Scandrick failed to make a tackle, and was flagged for defensive holding on another.

Jacquizz Rodgers was a nightmare for Dallas to stop on this drive, and it eventually stalled with three Turner runs. But the damage had been done. Bryant kicked a 32-yard field goal, and Romo would only have 0:17 left at his own 20 to score a touchdown.

Atlanta used 5:04 of the final 5:21 on the clock to kill Dallas’ chances for a comeback. Few teams pull these drives off so well.

Romo threw three short passes for 20 yards, but he needed to go deep. Fortunately, this pass would not go out of bounds like his Hail Mary last week, but this time Romo needed 60 yards.

He went much shorter than that, and Felix Jones caught the short pass, gained 39 yards, but with no one around to lateral to, he went down harmlessly at the ATL 21 to end the game.

It is the 20th game-winning drive for Ryan, accomplished at 27 years, 171 days old. That makes him the youngest quarterback ever to reach 20 game-winning drives, surpassing Peyton Manning.

Youngest to 20 Game-Winning Drives

QB

Age

Date

Matt Ryan

27-171

11/4/2012

Peyton Manning

27-279

12/28/2003

Ben Roethlisberger

27-293

12/20/2009

Jake Plummer

27-354

12/8/2002

The Falcons are 8-0, and half of their wins have come via game-winning drives.

The Ravens get the season sweep over Cleveland as John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco improve to 10-0 against the Browns, but just like the first 2012 meeting, this one was not easy.

Baltimore looked to be rolling over Cleveland with a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but things changed afterwards. The Browns kicked three field goals in the second quarter, then played more strong defense in the second half.

Now only down 14-12 in the fourth quarter, the Browns forced a fifth straight three and out by Baltimore. Brandon Weeden engineered a drive that appeared to lead to a go-ahead touchdown pass to Josh Gordon, but the play was wiped out because of an illegal formation penalty. Typical Cleveland.

Phil Dawson kicked his fifth field goal of the day, this one from 41 yards as the Browns led 15-14 with 8:48 left. The Ravens were blowing it after their bye week.

But with 8:44 left, Flacco had plenty of time. Did he have the rhythm? After starting 10/10 for 100 yards, Flacco was 2/10 for 10 yards. He would start the drive with a drop by Torrey Smith before finding Anquan Boldin for a 21-yard gain to get things going finally.

A weak call of roughing the passer on T.J. Ward moved the ball 15 yards closer. Ray Rice had consecutive runs of 10 yards, but three plays later the Ravens faced a 3rd and 10.

When you talk about closing games, these are the critical plays. A field goal would take the lead, but getting a touchdown would make winning more likely.

Smith atoned for his drop and made a nice move on a short pass to go 19 yards for the touchdown with 4:26 left. Boldin was wide open for the two-point conversion. Baltimore led 22-15.

Weeden threw short on the drive, quickly setting up a 4th and 2 at the CLE 28 with 3:53 left. With two timeouts remaining, you punt the football. A failure to convert and the game is all but over as the Ravens could just kick a field goal.

Sure enough, the Browns failed to convert as Weeden was nowhere close to the receiver on a mess of a play.

The Ravens kept it on the ground, and rookie kicker Justin Tucker was good on the 43-yard field goal. Cleveland trailed 25-15 with 2:45 left, which is all but game over. Three plays later Weeden threw an interception to ball magnet Ed Reed, and the Ravens ran the ball four times to convert the first down one last time to ice this one.

Trusting Brandon Weeden on a do-or-die play in what was not a do-or-die situation? This is Brad Childress. This is Pat Shurmur.

This is Cleveland Browns’ football.

COMEBACK FAILURES OF THE WEEK

We have another late-game failure involving Carolina, but not what you would expect this week. Though Carson Palmer does chip in what you would expect from him in the clutch, and the Vikings also come up well short in Seattle.

RGIII fails to press Newton, Panthers in the fourth

While the late-game struggles of the Carolina Panthers have been well-documented, we may need to crack open a book for the Washington Redskins at this point. Though it is usually their defense allowing the game-winning drive, this time it was the offense playing from behind in what was a very disappointing performance.

Trailing 14-6 to start the fourth quarter, Robert Griffin III was sacked by Charles Johnson (still not money well spent). Josh Morgan dropped the pass on 3rd and 20, which was a major problem last week for Washington, but this play would not have even put the team into field goal position. The Redskins punted.

It only took one play for Cam Newton to find a wide open Armanti Edwards for a big 82-yard gain that somehow did not result in a touchdown. But three plays later, it was Newton on the designed run for the 1-yard touchdown. Carolina led 21-6.

Griffin threw high on first down, lost two yards on a designed run, then was sacked again for a quick three and out. Carolina punted after one first down was gained. Griffin drove to his own 43, but another drop, another high pass to the back, another drop by Morgan set up 4th and 10. Griffin faced a four-man rush, but held the ball and took a sack.

After a 60-yard drive in which two Washington touchdowns were nullified by penalty, they finally got on the board with a 2-yard run by Evan Royster. But the onside kick failed, and Carolina ran the ball three times before punting.

Griffin had 0:17 left at his own 17, down 21-13 in what is otherwise known as an impossible situation. His short pass to Brandon Banks, the poor man’s Devin Hester, led to a loss of nine yards after Banks danced around behind the line. That ended the game.

Newton outplayed Griffin in their first meeting. Rather than blow another fourth-quarter lead, the Panthers responded with a 91-yard touchdown drive to push the lead out to 21-6. Griffin did not have the hot hand this time, and that made for a somewhat comfortable victory for Carolina.

The line for Carson Palmer

“No one turns a big deficit into a small deficit, back into a big deficit like Carson Palmer.”

This once was the line the Captain used for Matt Schaub, sometimes with an extra “finally into a small deficit after a garbage-time score as the game ends” at the end. But Palmer has been doing it longer, and too frequent enough to not earn the distinction.

After the tight first half, Doug Martin exploded for Tampa Bay in the second half, becoming the first player in NFL history with three touchdown runs of 45+ yards in the same game.

Oakland appeared finished with a 28-10 deficit late in the third quarter, but they put together a drive for a Palmer touchdown pass. Big deal, as Martin immediately answered with his 70-yard touchdown run to take a 35-17 lead with 13:51 left. Comebacks like this almost never happen.

But Palmer continued to find holes in what has been a leaky pass defense from Tampa Bay this season. He completed an 80-yard touchdown drive with a 1-yard pass to Brandon Myers.

The onside kick failed, but three plays later Josh Freeman was charged with a fumble after putting the ball in LeGarrette Blount’s chest, who could not secure it. Richard Seymour recovered the fumble, and game on.

Palmer put together another strong drive, this one 65 yards, and he even ran a quarterback sneak on 4th and 2 at the TB 16. On the next play, Palmer threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Marcel Reece.

On the two-point conversion, Palmer was under pressure and just threw the pass up for grabs. Rookie Juron Criner came down with it for the two points. We had a 35-32 game with plenty of time left.

Tampa Bay did not stay conservative in the four-minute offense, as Freeman threw deep on second down to Vincent Jackson, but it was incomplete. After two delay of game penalties, Freeman completed a 12-yard pass on 3rd and 21. Oakland used their first timeout.

Now it came down to Palmer, who was having a strong game to this point, having 2:42 and two timeouts left to get at least a field goal, starting at his own 38. Not the hardest situation to be in by any means.

But after overthrowing Rod Streater by inches on first down, Palmer caved under the pressure and was intercepted on the next play. Ahmad Black returned the ball to the RAI 22. Doug Martin carried the ball three times, and scored a touchdown; his fourth of the game.

Now down 42-32 with 1:43 left, Palmer threw his third interception of the game. The only thing left in the game was Martin losing 14 yards on his last three carries, bringing down his prolific day to 251 yards.

Palmer completed 39 of 61 passes for 414 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT and a 85.0 passer rating, but as we have so often seen (13-39 record at comebacks), he did not finish the job.

Ponder the thought: 63 yards passing in 60-minute game

What ever happened to “the run sets up the pass” from the pigskin pundits? This is one you do not hear as often anymore, or maybe the Captain has just stopped wasting time with the so-called experts and does his own thing each week.

Adrian Peterson has been providing the run all year. He leads the league with 957 rushing yards. He had 182 yards and two scores in Seattle on just 17 carries.

Yet, none of that mattered for Christian Ponder, who completed 11 of 22 passes for 63 yards and an interception. Just two weeks ago against Arizona, Ponder threw for 58 yards in a win.

What in the name of Derek Anderson is going on when a quarterback in 2012 can start and finish two games and not throw for more than 63 yards? Ponder was even sacked four times for 19 yards, so the net passing game was 44 yards.

The Seahawks ran the ball well in this game, with Marshawn Lynch gaining 124 yards. But Russell Wilson still played very well, throwing three touchdown passes and throwing for 173 yards on 24 attempts.

But while the Minnesota passing game did nothing, the running game still kept things close for most of the game.

Trailing 27-20 in the fourth quarter, Minnesota’s drive stalled after five plays when Ponder was nowhere close on consecutive throws. The Seahawks added a field goal, and a 30-20 lead with 6:23 looked very safe.

Now needing to abandon the run and score quickly, Ponder was still using play action, but it only took three plays before he was intercepted by Brandon Browner, who practically ran the route for Percy Harvin.

Seattle took over with 5:27 left and put together a great game-ending drive. Wilson ran three times for one first down. Lynch ran for another. Then on a 4th and 4 at the MIN 15, Wilson threw a 6-yard pass to convert and finish running out the clock.

Even while playing with the lead, Wilson threw for 58 yards in the fourth quarter to Ponder’s 63 in the entire game.

Outside of one season with Brett Favre playing great (2009), the Vikings are wasting the prime years of Adrian Peterson’s career.

Next week

Let’s see if the Colts have to pull out another close win over Jacksonville; the only team they failed to close out this season. Denver at Carolina sounds like a big mismatch, though don’t be surprised to see it here next week. Falcons at Saints is always interesting, and should fill up the scoreboard. Texans and Bears have one close game between them, so here’s to hoping we actually get a great prime time game for a change.

Scott Kacsmar is a football writer/researcher who has contributed large quantities of data to Pro-Football-Reference.com, including the only standardized database of fourth quarter comebacks and game-winning drives. You can visit his blog for a complete writing archive. Please send any questions or comments to Scott at smk_42@yahoo.com, or you can follow him on Twitter at @CaptainComeback.